Join Us for a Spiritually Rich and Politically Relevant High Holy Days Celebration
We will meet in person at Montclair Presbyterian Church, 5701 Thornhill Dr, Oakland, CA 94611 and on Zoom
Led by Rabbi Cat Zavis (member of Rabbis for Ceasefire & JVP Rabbinic Council) & Musical Director Ami Goodman
Joined by lay leader Abby Caplin, percussionist Jan Padover, violinist Joshua Laurenzi, and flutist Danny Bittker
At a time when it looks like the world is falling apart and the forces of evil are flourishing, we invite you to join Beyt Tikkun: A Synagogue without Walls for a spiritually rich and politically relevant High Holy Days experience. Our services will strengthen your capacity for hope and faith in the possibility of a transformed world.
Our services will be a beautiful blend of deep spirituality and prophetic consciousness. We will find a way to navigate this challenging time together, holding our grief, compassion, care, and rage. We will have speakers that will open our hearts and minds as well as expand our consciousness and vision of what’s possible. Our music will lift our spirits and hold our brokenness.
In addition to Rabbi Cat’s teachings, we will hear from Hamze Awawde, a Palestinian peace activist and conflict resolution expert. His family was directly affected by the Nakba and was strongly involved in the Palestinian national movement, during which his grandfather was killed. This history showed Hamze the need to break the cycle of bloodshed, and he has worked for many years to seek joint liberation and a shared future. You can find him on Instagram here.
We will, as always, have our unique Beyt Tikkun Al Cheyt (For Our Sins) for both the personal and collective ways we have missed the mark. This has been a very difficult year. We will hold the grief, sorrow, rage, and complexity of our feelings in our beloved community and also celebrate and embrace the New Year with its possibilities for transformation. We hope you will join us.
At Beyt Tikkun . . .
We believe in a Judaism of love and transformation
We strive to heal ourselves and our world through joyful and meaningful spiritual practice, loving relationships, social activism, and revolutionary consciousness.
We believe in a Judaism beyond Zionism
We appreciate the important role of the land of Israel in Jewish tradition, liturgy, and identity. At the same time, we reject the fusing of Judaism or any religion with political nationalism. We oppose Jewish supremacy in all its manifestations and the construct of the Jews as the chosen people. We embrace the Jewish teachings that uplift the sacredness of all peoples.
We openly acknowledge that the creation of an ethnic Jewish nation state in historic Palestine resulted in an injustice against the Palestinian people – an injustice that continues to this day.
We reject any ideology that insists upon exclusive Jewish entitlement to the land. Just as we recognize that Turtle Island (i.e., North America) is the home of indigenous peoples, we simultaneously embrace that the land of Israel|Palestine has historically been considered sacred by many faiths and home to a variety of peoples, ethnicities, and cultures. In our advocacy and activism we oppose Israel’s ongoing oppression of the Palestinian people. We seek a future that includes full civil and human rights for all who live in the land – Jews and non-Jews alike.
We believe in a Judaism without Walls
You don’t have to be Jewish, religiously observant, or in the Bay Area to join us for High Holy Day services. Our 2024/5785 High Holy Day services will be held both in person (in the Bay Area) and on Zoom. We hope you will join us.
Our services are framed by two prophetic quotes of Abraham Joshua Heschel that on the one hand, uplift awe, wonder, and radical amazement, and on the other hand, remind us of the importance of making our prayers meaningful and relevant to our times.
“To pray is to take notice of the wonder, to regain the sense of mystery that animates all beings . . . Prayer is our humble answer to the inconceivable surprise of living.”
“Prayer is meaningless unless it is subversive, unless it seeks to overthrow and ruin the pyramids of callousness, hatred, opportunism, falsehoods. A liturgical movement must become a revolutionary movement seeking to overthrow the forces that destroy the promise, the hope, the vision.”
[Please note that all times below are in Pacific Time.]
Kol Nidre | Oct 11th, 6:30pm
Yom Kippur | Oct 12th, 9:00am
The central message of Rosh Hashanah and Yom Kippur is to engage in individual repair and transformation of ourselves so we can bring our more fully healed selves to social movements and struggles for healing and repair of our world.
The High Holidays offer us a time for deep, honest self-reflection.
In what ways have we manifested our highest spiritual selves, both in our personal lives and in working to build a society that embodies justice, love, and caring for those in need?
What have we done to protect the life-support system of the planet?
Did we join with others to challenge systemic oppression, selfishness, and materialism?
The High Holy Days provide a structure for this self-reflection so we can become more fully embodied sparks of divine light and love. Doing so requires engaging in teshuva (repentance), transformation, and change. We are called to take responsibility for how we have treated others in less than kind ways, whether in our actions towards other individuals or in how we engage in our larger society. Where did we miss the mark, and what can we do differently going forward?
Beyt Tikkun services offer a spiritually rich experience with traditional and renewed High Holiday music and liturgy (both Hebrew and English), prophetic teachings, and guided visualizations. The Hasidim taught that in difficult times like these we must let our joy fill the air, and insisted that the High Holy Days be filled with music, dance, and love. You’ll find this energy at our services!!!
We’d love to have you join us.
Please register now. Kol Nidre is Friday, October 11th.
5785/2024 HIGH HOLIDAY SCHEDULE
We will meet in person at Montclair Presbyterian Church, 5701 Thornhill Dr, Oakland, CA 94611, and on Zoom.
KOL NIDRE | EREV YOM KIPPUR
Friday, October 11th – 6:30 pm (Pacific Daylight Time)
Candlelighting
Chanting of Kol Nidre Prayer
Guided Visualization of the Universe & Evening prayers
Guest Speaker Hamze Awawde
Vidui For Our Sins
Closing
YOM KIPPUR
Saturday, October 12th – 9:00 am (Pacific Daylight Time)
(We will begin at 9:00 am; other times subject to change. Please plan to arrive 15 minutes early so we can begin on time.)
9:00 am – Shacharit/Morning service & celebration of the universe
10:30 am – Selichot – confronting where we as individuals, a society, and a global human community and how we have missed the mark
11:30 am – Torah Service & Haftarah (Isaiah)
Teaching by Rabbi Cat Zavis on Liberation Theology
Small group discussions/reflections
2:00 pm – Yizkor
2:30 pm – Seeking forgiveness from the Earth
3:00 – 6:00 pm – Break from Community Services -Teshuvah (repentance) focus
6:00 pm – Mincha: Book of Jonah and guided meditation for transformation
7:00 – 8:00 pm – Ne’ila and breaking the fast
Registration
If you have not yet paid your membership for 2024-2025/5785, you can join as a member below. Membership fees are at least 1% of your gross annual income. That donation would equate to $650 for an individual with a gross annual income of $65,000. We request, if possible, a minimum donation of $500/individual or $750/couple. We will not turn anyone away for financial reasons. We understand that young adults and older adults on fixed incomes may have difficulty meeting the expectations for dues. Please let us know what you can afford. You can call Alden at 510-644-1200 or email, Monday-Friday 9 am – 1 pm Pacific time to register. This past year, we have increased the number of events and activities we offer. You can find upcoming and past events on our Events page; click here. Though we are not raising our membership fees, we truly hope that old and new members alike will respond to this increased activity with a comparable increase in your financial commitment.
The primary benefit of membership is belonging to our dynamic Jewish Renewal community of prayer, ritual, custom, and study. Tangible benefits of membership include:
- Shabbat, High Holiday, and festival services
- Pastoral counseling and selected life-cycle events
- Educational programs for free or at a discounted rate
- Newsletters and access to the Members-Only website
- Members-only gatherings
- Committee and leadership opportunities
- Social action project participation
Donations to Beyt Tikkun EIN# 94-3354385 can be listed as charitable donations on your federal income tax.
Membership 5785 Registration
Attend High Holidays as Non-Members
We are delighted to have you join us at High Holiday Services.
Income-based pricing:
We have created a sliding fee scale for our services in the hopes of making them as accessible as possible. The rates listed below are the minimum amount we need to just cover our expenses. We would greatly appreciate it if you would consider donating more than the requested amount. All donations are tax deductible. No one is turned away; please contact Austin at austin@beyttikkun.org.
The requested donation per person is $90-$400. Please note that $200 is our estimated cost per person to provide all of these services both in person and online. As noted above, minimum membership is 1% of your income, though we hope you can donate even more! Membership includes tickets to the High Holiday services as well as all services throughout the year and more!. As you are likely aware, High Holidays is the time of year that synagogues raise money for their yearly budget.
Donations to Beyt Tikkun EIN# 94-3354385 can be listed as charitable donations on your federal income tax.
Non-Member High Holiday Services
Accessibility & COVID Practices for this gathering
While we do not require masks, we recommend that folks wear masks while indoors. We will create a section where masks are required for folks who want that option. If you are sick, please join us on Zoom.
We will have automated closed captioning on Zoom.
The church is all on one level and accessible for wheelchairs.
